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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

019 751 850 9 



Hollinger Corp. 
pH8.5 






STATE OF WISCONSIN 



Departmemt of Public Instruction 



To School Officers and Others Interested in the Direction of School 
District Business to he Passed upon at the Annual Meetings July 
7, 1919. 

The following outline is furnished for the purpose of giying some 
general and uniform directions that will assist all parties interested in 
properly conducting the annual school district meetings. 

The annual meeting will be held at eight o'clock Monday evening, 
July 7, 1919. 

The law requires the clerk to post notices in at least four places in 
the district calling the attention of the electors to the day and hour of 
the meeting. One notice must be affixed to the outer door of the school- 
house. If there is no schoolhouse in the district, the place of meeting 
must be specified in the notice. All notices must be posted at least six 
full days before the day for holding the meeting. 

At the annual meeting any business may be legally transacted with- 
out special mention in the notice. It is well, however, if questions of 
special importance are to come up, to make mention of the questions in 
the notice. This will secure a large representation of the voters at the 
meeting. If transportation, selection of site, or erection or remodeling 
of building is to be voted on, it should by all means be mentioned. 

The statute requires that school district officers must meet on Satur- 
day, July 5, for the purpose of comparing the books and records for the 
year in order that their report to the electors may be consistent, com- 
plete, and satisfactory. At this meeting the board should also consider 
the needs of the school so that they may be able to make definite rec- 
ommendations to the electors regarding repairs, equipment, or any other 
item involving a considerable expenditure of money. The board must 
be ready to recommend the amount of money that the district needs to 
raise for the ensuing year. 

If there is a small debt at the end of the year, recommend that a suf- 
ficient amount of money be raised to enable the board to wipe it out. 
Put the district on a square business footing, with the ability to meet 
all bills to be presented during the coming year. When things are 
squared up once, it is an easy matter to keep them so and a good many 
kinds of trouble and perplexity will be avoided. 



— 4 — 

16. Vote to determine whether or not the school board shall be direct- 
ed to close the school and provide transportation and tuition for all per- 
sons of school age who may attend a state graded school or the grades 
below the high school in some adjoining or convenient district. (The 
tuition of those who attend the high school may be paid by the town in 
which they reside.) (Section 430 — 7 must be read and studied in this 
connection. Any district complying with the provisions of said chap- 
ter is entitled to receive one hundred and fifty dollars of special aid 
from the state upon filing the proper application. The teacher's wages, 
cost of fuel, repairs, etc., can be used wholly or in part to pay trans- 
portation and tuition. By adopting this plan many districts can save 
money and at the same time give the children better school advantages 
than if a small school were maintained in the district. 

17. Vote to determine whether or not the school board shall be author- 
ized to enter into contracts with parents, guardians or other persons in 
charge of any pupil or pupils to compensate such parents or guardians 
for transporting any pupil or pupils to the school. The statute permits 
compensation to be paid to such parents or guardians in cases where th© 
distance is more than two miles from the school. 

18. Levy a tax to raise money for the payment of transportation or 
tuition in case advantage should be taken of any of the above provisions. 

19. Vote upon the question of furnishing free textbooks for your dis- 
trict. 

20. Consider whether or not consolidation of school districts or of 
school interests in your neighborhood will be advantageous. Read 
Chapter 510, pages 45-46, Law Supplement. 

21. Consider whether or not your school may be profitably organized 
into a state graded school or in certain cases into a free high school. 
Section 430f. 

Read chapter 157, laws of 1917, if you have anything like sixty pupils 
enrolled in a one-room schoolhouse. If a two department state graded 
school is established the district will be entitled to special aid to the 
amount of $200 each year and if a three department school is established 
$300 will be paid annually. (Sections 496d to 496i inclusive, pages 
313-316 School Code.) 

22. Select a name for the schools. (See Chapter 208, Laws of 1919, 
given on pa^e 6.) 

23. Entertain any other matter relating to the management of the 
affairs of the district. 

24. Adjourn sine die if the business of the district has been satisfac- 
torily completed. If not satisfactorily completed, it will be well to 
adjourn to a near future day. By so doing the trouble of calling a 
special meeting will be avoided. As many adjournments as are neces- 
sary to complete the business of the district may be legally taken. 



5 — 



ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND SUGGESTIONS FOR SCHOOL 

BOARDS 

It is tlie duty of every town treasurer to make and forward to the 
clerk of each school district, in whole or in part in his town, on or be- 
fore the second Monday of June, a certified statement of the amount of 
money paid to such district treasurer by him during the year next pre- 
ceding. The town treasurer must specify the date, amount of, and the 
account upon which each such payment was made. See Section 468 of 
the School law^s. Compliance with this command of the statutes will 
be of large assistance to the district clerk in checking his records and 
in keeping the financial affairs of the district in satisfactory shape. 

The per capita state apportionment of school money for the past year' 
was $3.22 outside of the city of Milwaukee. From this amount, the 
county treasurer deducted ten cents for the library fund. The state 
money received by each district was $3.12 for every person reported 
on the school census last summer. The county board must levy upon 
each town, village, and city during each November session a sum at 
least equal to that received by such town, village, or city from the state 
apportionment. This is known as "county money". Knowing the num- 
ber of persons of school age in the district, the board can estimate the 
amount of money to be received from the state and county, and conse- 
quently the amount needed to be raised by the district locally. 

Application for the $50 state aid should be made as soon as the school 
closes, if the district has maintained 2i -first class rural school in accord- 
ance with the specifications laid down in the special bulletin. Applica- 
tions for state aid for transportation should also be made at the close 
of school. Blanks for these state aids are furnished by the County 
Superintendent. 

District clerks should not forget to report to town clerks on or before 
the third Monday in November the amount of local tax raised by the 
district. A special blank for the purpose is included with the other 
report blanks. 

It is suggested that school oflicers read carefully the part of the 
School Code (1S15) contained on pages 258 to 270, relating to their du- 
ties individually and as a board. Many questions are asked the 
answ^ers to which can be found in these pages. See also "Comments" 
pages 377-386. 

If there are nonresidents attending your school, for w^hom tuition is 
to be paid, send the tuition bills to the proper person just as soon as 
the school is closed. Read Section 435o on page 261 of the School Code 
of 1915 before you make out the bill and follow the directions given in 
paragraph 3. School boards having charge of state graded schools of 
the first class will find a law affecting tuition pupils in the ninth and 
tenth grades, on page six of the Law Supplement. (Chapter 71) 



School boards should make it a policy to hire teachers early, es- 
pecially in districts where the schools are large. Boards have legal 
authority to hire teachers before the annual meeting provided the mat- 
ter is considered at a legal meeting of the board, remembering, of 
course, that the voters may determine the length of the term. When 
persons' whose school work is unknown to the members of the board 
make application for the school, the board should, as far as possible, 
ascertain from the county superintendent and perhaps others, knowledge 
of the kind of work that the applicant has done. In all cases, the board 
should be certain that the applicant has legal qualifications. 

The records of the district should be kept in good condition. Good 
substantial record books must be provided in all cases for the clerk and 
the treasurer. The business affairs of the district must be kept in per- 
manent form and school business must be transacted legally. 

A bulletin giving specific directions for the construction of school 
outbuildings has been prepared under the joint direction of the iState 
Board of Health, the State Department of Education, the Industrial 
Commission, and the State Engineer. A copy of this bulletin can be se- 
cured from the County Superintendent or from the State iSuperintendent. 
iSchool boards should note that under Section 435a (page 260, School 
Code of 1915) it is their duty to provide suitable outbuildings. They 
are empowered, if necessary, to levy an extra tax for the purpose. If 
new outbuildings are needed, they should be built according to the di- 
rections in the new bulletin. 

The following laws have been enacted by the Legislature of 1919: 

Chapter 125. Every board of education or district board shall pur- 
chase at the expense of the city, town, village or district to which it be- 
longs and the governing head or body of any private or parochial school 
shall purchase and display in the school room or from a flag staff on 
each schoolhouse or on the grounds thereof a flag of the United States, 
and shall purchase in like manner whatever may be needed for the 
display or preservation of said flag. It shall be the duty of every board 
of education or district board and every governing body of any private 
or parochial school and of every principal or teacher in charge of each 
school to cause such flag to be properly displayed in the school room or 
in seasonable weather during the school hours of each day's session of 
school upon the flag staff of said schoolhouse or school grounds and to 
have such flag taken down at the close of each day's session. 

Chapter 126. School shall be maintained in a district receiving such 
(State Graded School) aid, at least nine school months, including legal 
holidays, in each and every department. Not more than forty-five pupils 
shall be enrolled in any one department of a state graded school for 
twenty consecutive days. * * * The average daily attendance for 
the entire school year shall aggregate at least thirty in a school of the 
second class and at least forty-five in three departments of a school of 
the first class, to entitle * * * such school to state aid. (Of interest 
to districts having state graded schools.) 

Chapter 208 relates to the naming of schools and providing mall boxes 
therefor. The principal provisions are as follows: 



1. The electors at the annual meeting (July 7) shall select a name 
for the school. If there be more than one school in the district a name 
shall be selected for each school. Second choice name may also be 
selected. 

2. If the electors fail to select such name or names, the school board 
shall do so within ten days after the meeting. 

3. The district clerk shall within five days notify the County Super- 
intendent. 

4. If the same name has been selected by two or more schools the 
school from which the report was first received shall retain the name 
reported, except that first preference shall be given to a name by which 
a school has been well known for a number of years. In case of such 
conflict the law prescribes the method of procedure. 

5. In case of failure to select a name on the part of both electors 
and school board, the County Superintendent is required to name the 
school. 

6. The school board is to provide and maintain a mail box for each 
school located on or near a free delivery mail route. 

7. After the name of the school has been approved, the clerk is to 
notify the postmaster on whose mail route the school is located, of the 
school, the number of the district and the name of each town, village or 
city of which the district forms a part. 

Other details are provided for in the law. The purpose of the measure 
is to provide a permanent mailing list for all the schools of the county 
so that circulars of information and other communications may reach 
the schools promptly. Many letters have been lost or delayed because 
of changes of address on the part of teachers during the year. 

Chapter 257 raises the minimum salary of teachers from $45 to $60 
per month. Districts paying less than the minimum prescribed by law 
forfeit their share of the seven-tenths mill tax (state money). 

A School Code containing all the school laws both new and old will be 
prepared and printed during the summer and fall. Copies will be sent 
to the district clerks as soon as received from the state printer. 

As the question of transportation is likely to come up in many dis- 
tricts, the main provisions of the law are again set forth here: 

Transportation in consolidated districts is compulsory only for chil- 
dren between the ages of 6 and 16. 

In districts where school has been suspended in accordance with the 
vote of the electors transportation is compulsory for all persons between 
the ages of 6 and 16 who reside more than one mile from the nearest 
school. 

In case the electors fail or refuse to provide transportation for chil- 
dren living more than two miles from the nearest school the parent or 
guardian may transport such children and shall be paid by the district 
in which he resides at the rate of 20 cents per day for each child. To 
receive this amount the parent must transport the child at least five 
months. .State aid to the amount of 10 cents per day per pupil is allowed 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

II mil mil mil Hill 




019 751 850 9 



the district in such case. This does not apply to consolidated districts 
nor to districts in which all the schools have heen suspended. 

Any person other than a parent or guardian of the children to be 
transported, entering into contract to provide transportation must give 
a bond of $300. 

State aid for transportation is as follows: For pupils transported 
more than two miles and not more than three, ten cents per day per 
pupil; over three miles and not more than four, 15 cents per day per 
pupil; over four miles 50 cents per day per pupil. No state aid for 
transportatio'n is allowed for pupils transported two miles or less, or 
for a period of less than five months unless failure to attend five 
months was due to absence from the district or other legal excuse. 

In case of pupils residing more than four miles from the nearest 
school the school board may in their discretion provide board and lodg- 
ing at some suitable place not more than one mile from school in lieu 
of transportation. The maximum amount which the district may pay 
for such board is $2.75 per school week. State aid at the rate of 20 
cents per day is allowed in such case the same as for transportation over 
four miles. 

In other than consolidated districts transportation must be provided 
for at least six months and the pupil must attend at least five months 
while being transported in order to entitle the district to state aid. 

Applications for state aid for transportation are to be forwarded to 
the County Superintendent who will send them to this department 
with his approval or disapproval. 

Since there is likely to be a shortage of teachers the coming year, It 
is especially urged that all districts that are able to do so, take ad- 
vantage of the portion of Chapter 441 permitting school districts to 
close their schools and to send the children to neighboring schools. 
Where this Is feasible, it will, as a rule, prove of large advantage finan- 
cially and otherwise. This is especially true where the attendance is 
small. In case such a step is contemplated, it will be well for the board 
to talk this matter over with boards in neighboring districts before the 
time of the annual meeting, in order that the people may be informed 
whether or not these districts are in a position to take care of nonresi- 
dent children. If the question comes up at the meeting without such 
consultation it may be well to adjourn to a future day. (See also School 
Law Supplement 1917, pages 32-87) 

Trusting that the above suggestions may be of interest and assuring 
you and the residents of your community that the most cordial cooper- 
ation of this Department is extended at all times in educational matters, 
I remain, 

Yours very truly, 

C. P. Gary, 
State Superintendent. 



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LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

019 751 850 9 



Hollinger Corp. 
pH8.5 



